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The differences between application specialists and application consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an application specialist, becoming an application consultant takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an application consultant has an average salary of $95,522, which is higher than the $84,635 average annual salary of an application specialist.
The top three skills for an application specialist include customer service, customer satisfaction and technical support. The most important skills for an application consultant are client facing, java, and CRM.
| Application Specialist | Application Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $84,635 | $95,522 |
| Hourly rate | $40.69 | $45.92 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 96,980 | 99,368 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
An application specialist is responsible for maintaining the optimal performance of system applications, ensuring smooth navigation by upgrading the features of existing applications, and performing multiple diagnostic tests before releasing the applications to the digital marketplace. Application specialists work closely with the design engineers to improve system codes, verify the efficiency of network infrastructure, and adjusting application functions based on the clients' specifications and business' needs. They should always consider the budget goals, target end-users, and current market trends to design applications, meeting users' demands and public interests.
The job of an application consultant is to assist and support businesses and organizations in developing technological solutions. In this role, you will be looking at the specific needs and requirements of organizations and understand their business process so you can create systems or solutions that meet their needs. Other duties include overseeing and troubleshooting existing software applications, building and implementing new software applications and programs, and providing live technical support for end-users. As an application consultant, you will also be responsible for training both customers and staff on how to use the software application.
Application specialists and application consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Specialist | Application Consultant | |
| Average salary | $84,635 | $95,522 |
| Salary range | Between $60,000 And $118,000 | Between $74,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Washington |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | Autodesk |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Technology |
There are a few differences between an application specialist and an application consultant in terms of educational background:
| Application Specialist | Application Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between application specialists' and application consultants' demographics:
| Application Specialist | Application Consultant | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.7% Female, 46.3% | Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 11.1% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.4% Asian, 14.6% White, 58.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |